My New Year's Resolution (again) was to re-start my photography, that is to say me photographing fit guys in various states of undress rather than views out my window or my last shopping from Tesco.
There's slightly more impetus this time around though as I'm seriously weighing up the pros and cons of going for voluntary redundancy at work after 28 years. So, if I can finally get it sorted as something that pays for itself at least, rather than an occasional drain on resources, this year could be the opportunity (I should add I've also registered with Amazon Jobs, ahead of them opening up here).
Anyway, phase one of getting there is recruiting guys to do the modelling, for which I have 3 main strategies, all of them easier said than done.
Foremost for me is the most direct way - handing my business card to guys I see on the street, in bars, shops, stations etc. On the plus side you know largely what you'll be getting (especially if they have their shirts off, but that's rare here) if they go for it.
On the downside, there is some risk of unpleasantness but it's much less than you'd think. Since the mid-90s I've only had two bad experiences, even if one of them was this beating up back in June 2006 which put me off for nearly 3 years.
The main downside though is that there is such a minute pick-up, probably close to one guy for every 100 cards. Many smile politely at the compliment then chuck the card or completely forget about it which amounts for the majority of 'failures', but even if you get to the stage of having a sit-down chat and them filling out my profile questionnaire, that itself can scare them off.
At this point too, there is a limiting etiqette that I reluctantly adhere to most of the time, usually in bars. Obviously if you hand someone a card you must give the impression that they are specially picked for exceptional looks and you're not handing them out willy nilly, which IS the genuine truth. However, if you spend a couple of hours in a bar it's very likely you'll spot more than one contender, which means you have to choose one or somehow manage to do the second without the first noticing. You can get lucky when the first leaves the bar after you've 'carded' him, but then a third contender might walk in and you're back to square one. This might be me being over-cautious but think how you'd feel if you realised you weren't as special as you thought?
The last hurdle is them actually turning up to do the test-shoot on an agreed date and time. It's one of the reasons I don't like to plan for just one model sesh on any particular day, though once three different models were no-shows. And that was when I was hiring a studio in Leith for £30 an hour!
The second strategy is online, usually via dating sites like Fitlads or webcam exhibitionists on cam4. On the dating sites, this approach is not hugely popular and I'm sure it may have been the reason I was booted off Gaydar - basically that's not what they're set up for after all.
Though cam4 might reasonably seem to be a very appropriate place to recruit good-looking exhibitionists, I haven't had any luck there either. On the one hand you have a lot of fast-moving comments competing for the webcammer's attention, often trying to discredit you as a scam (which I think is rather desperate as a tactic). Plus, in almost all cases you only know the webcammer's country of origin - UK being the most specific I can target - unless they opt to give you more on their location.
And during 2010, cam4 set up a token system so that webcammers earn tokens from fans/viewers that can be redeemed for cash. They're worth about as much as store card points, so you have to get 1000s to make decent wads, but it can be done. Not everyone uses them, as they're there for the love of showing off, but there's a definite shift in the younger and/or straight lads to 'go pro' and tease punters that a certain target amount will get their shirt off etc etc. I have a feeling that they'd be less likely to any modelling now that they've had their heads turned by easy cash from the comfort of home. I shall keep trying though.
My third strategy is the one I do least often as it is the most outdated, awkward and least reliable - advertising in newsagent shop windows. You have to know what the passing custom in a particular area is - ones with high student populations being the best. Through experience I've found that it's people you wouldn't look twice at that apply, often knocking 5 or even 10 years off their age to qualify for my upper age limit of 40. Latterly I even reduced the upper age limit to try and counter such deluded attempts. Ideally I'd like to be able to advertise in gyms or colleges or barbers, but I think that would be generally frowned upon (if you know different please tell me!). Anyway I think I'll give it another go to see if I get more luck this time round.
With all the attempts though, I'd love to be able to better tailor my 'advances' to the psychology of the potential models. There's some guys who'd just never do it - some people don't like having their photo taken in any circumstances for a start - but for those that would I'd to find their 'hook' and 'reel them in' with it. I get the idea there may be two main types, among straight guys anyway.
First the ones who have the image of fashion models lodged in their head and want to look that cool and hip in a set of photos. These are the ones who are a bit anxious when I bring up getting all or most of their clothes off as it shatters their preconceptions, even though fashion models are often doing near naked stuff these days. In worst case scenarios they may think they've been duped and "how dare I think they'd do THAT"! Well they don't directly say that, but you can tell. They're often the phase 2 dropouts.
Secondly, and one that many of the more artless US pornographers appear to use with great success, is what I'd term the "Jackass" generation. I've never really tried to target this type and not sure how I'd go about it anyway. Basically these will be the guys who will do everything asked as if it's some sort of bizarre dare/frat prank they can even boast about among friends ("I had this guy jack me off" "Ah, but I had to put a dildo up my ass"), but will equally be there for the cash compensation. They probably only do it once though. This is all a guess on my part, but perhaps others can confirm or deny.
Of course, neither type is wholly suitable for my purposes. I'd prefer someone who was comfy with what they were doing and who was seeing it, pleased to show off and celebrate all of their body, and equally flattered to be asked back for further work.
Now, obviously if anyone reading this is up for being a model (fit 18-35s please) or can advise or help my endevours please get in touch. Comment below or get me as 'cobaltmale' on both Twitter DM or skype. Also go via my Model Mayhem page especially if you are a member there.
Obviously, you need to be either resident in central Scotland or visiting (any Six Nations fans coming up?)
I'm also looking for help with all sorts of costumes and locations. A driver would also be a help.
2 comments:
Sorry to be a wet blanket but my advice is don't do it,
particularly if you are using redundancy ( or similar ) money to finance it.
Apart from the fact that you will need to spend dosh on a good dslr camera ,possibly a decent camcorder ,lights ( flash units) and accessories like brollies,ir triggers,backgrounds possibly etc etc you then have the problem of finding guys and you ( and I and someone else I know who tried it) already know how difficult that can be and things have not got better over the years . It might be feasable if you lived further South like Manchester or London but not in Scotland which ,in many respects ,still lives in the Dark Ages .
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